6.21.2010

Trails, Trails, Trails

Lately I have been getting bored of running in the same area all the time. So *S* and I decided to switch it up. This last Wednesday and yesterday, we ran on trails. It was such a nice change. There are SO many different trails in Upper Park. Not to mention that the time goes by MUCH faster!! So much faster in fact, that we ended up doing 4 miles on Sunday!! It was the farthest that either of us has ever ran!!

I got a Nike SportBand+ for my birthday and I LOVE it. I don't know if it's 100% true to distance, but I would say it's pretty dang close. I want to eventually get a GPS watch, but for now, it will do.

I felt so good on Wednesday and Sunday that I think I may actually start doing more distance! I never thought that I would say THAT before! Running isn't too bad when you have someone to do it with.

Off to Sunny St. George for the weekend. I'm going to try and get in some days of running while I'm there. I hope the elevation and hills don't kill me!

6.01.2010

Workin' Hard

Gross, I know. But it makes me feel good that I can see how hard I was going!
Today Bald and I decided to run on the treadmills again. I actually felt really good. I could tell that I ate like crap today!! I never believed it would make that much of a difference, but it did.
2.73 miles in 30 minutes, it was a good easy pace. I love how I can run for long periods of time now.

5.30.2010

Outside Run

Today Bald and I did our first run together outside. It was nice having him with me. Even though we didn't talk, he listened to music and I didn't, it went by pretty fast. It was warmer than usual, but I know that my body will acclimate to the heat....eventually! I'm just preparing for those hot Chico summer mornings and/or evenings.

I also ran in my Nike Free shoes. They didn't bother me at all. I think I might just have to convert to them. We'll see if they give me any trouble the next couple of runs I take them out.

I am just so thankful that I was able to do this program and "inspire" Bald to get out and run with me!!

Today was a GREAT day. And I would rate it a 9 out of 10 for it being the 3rd day in a row of running!! I wasn't sore at all and went at nice steady, kinda slow, pace. I never thought that I would be running 3 days in a row and actually LIKING it!!

5.29.2010

New Adventures

I know that it's been a LONG time since I have posted. I have a hard time writing about what I'm doing and what we've been up to!

I've decided to use this blog to document how I feel on my runs, mileage, and times. Just as a reminder to myself.

Eleven weeks ago, I started running. I have always despised running. It was fine when I was in high school and at basketball practice, fine while I was running up and down the basketball court in a pick-up game, but never did I have the desire to just go out and run a couple of miles. Then I stopped playing. I mean, I have always LOVED to play basketball. But here in Chico, I wasn't as blessed to find a pick-up game without joining a gym! When I started coaching this last basketball season, I TRIED to run up and down the court with the girls. It was HARD. I mean really, REALLY HARD!! I needed to get into shape. So when I received the email from a local running shop that said they were doing a beginners 5k program, I immediately wanted to join.

I didn't think that I would meet a great running partner, *S*, on the first day. We just started chatting as we ran/walked. She helped the time go by faster. We met on Saturday mornings and Wednesday evenings as a group. We would talk about what we were going to do that weekend on Sat. and what we ended up doing on Weds. We both had a friend that we didn't want to let down by NOT showing up. So I went on EVERY run so I wasn't behind when we met. There were a couple of times that she was out of town for work, and I realized how much fun it was to have a running buddy.

The program has now been over for a week. I ran my first 5k in about 7 years last Saturday!! It was a great feeling to accomplish such a big obstacle. *S* and I had a goal of 33 minutes. That was 1:45 faster than what we normally ran it. It was pretty chilly that morning and we both felt sluggish. We were sure that we weren't going to make our goal time. But when we came around that last corner and we saw the timer, it was at 32:58!! We both looked at each other, HUGE smiles on our faces, and started running harder to the finish. I finished at 33:10 and *S*-33:11. The best part of the race was the finish and all the cheers we heard as we rounded that last corner. It was amazing all the support that was out there that morning. It's what makes me want to run another 5k.

I had a really hard time finding the motivation to run this last week. But it's a good thing that I was meeting up with *S* on Saturday morning. That is what pushed me to do my runs. I thought to myself, "If I don't run, then I won't be able to keep up with her. And you're a competitive person and don't like to get beat by your running buddy. You HAVE to go run"

So I did the Body for Life cardio workout on Tuesday and did 2.1 miles in 20 minutes. That equals out to about 10 minute miles. I felt GREAT about that. I want to work on getting faster.

Friday I did 3 miles in 33:12. Oh man, I wanted to quit about a mile into it!! I was just miserable. But I told myself that I HAD to do 3 miles. That is what I had planned on doing so I was going to stick to it. And I did. But my goodness, it was HARD!!

Today I met up with *S* and we did another 3 miles. We were both a little sore from our runs yesterday. My body wasn't liking me too much. My hips, calves and knees were all sore. But we did all 3 miles and I only complained the first 1/2 mile!

It's so rewarding to think that 11 weeks ago I was just doing 90 seconds of jogging, 3 minutes of walking and now I have ran six, SIX miles in 2 days! I still don't love to run, but do it because of how I feel afterward.

2.04.2009

Super Bowl XLIII

Baldy and I had our first REAL Super Bowl party this year! We made ribs, hot wings and little smokies in BBQ sauce. Everyone else brought a snack or side dish. I was so nervous about the food not turning out. It was our first time cooking ribs, they turned out great! Our friend Sally brought over her Digital LSR, and I was having a good time with it. Here are 2 that I took that I absolutely love, there is one missing that I will have to post later. I think I need one! There hasn't been any editing BECAUSE I don't have any of that software on my mini! Enjoy!



P.S. I'm still a little upset that the Steelers won it.

1.30.2009

Junior's Graduation

Bald's youngest brother, Junior (Benjamin), graduated from Universal Technical Institute. Everyone is really proud of him. He had perfect attendance and was on the Instructor's and Dean's list in several of the courses!
Meet Bald's parent's! His Mom, Paula, and his dad, Pilo. Those aren't their real names, but I don't know how to spell them. I can never get him to give me a serious smile!




12.22.2008

12.16.2008

New path

For all of you that don't already know this, I'm taking a Pharmacy Technician class online. I love it so far! I'm learning so much and I'm kickin butt on the exams! I still have a TON more to learn before I get my certificate, but it will be a great new path in my life.

Well, this past week has been ok. Baldy is up in the snow, so I'm here by myself ... with Adam of course ... but he's so busy with basketball and school that he doesn't usually get home til about 9 pm. I don't know what I'm going to do for Christmas if he's still up there. I'll probably go to his parent's house and help make TAMALES!! She only makes them twice a year ... once for Al's b-day & Christmas ... and they are so good!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, everyone!

12.07.2008

November

Bald and I were able to make a visit home together! Thanksgiving was a busy day and I don't have any pictures of it. So Shelle, if you want to send me some, that would be great.


My 2 aunts and I, Katy and Shelle, hit up the outlets at midnight. There were tons of people, but good times with those 2! We pulled an all-nighter. Then Bald and I had to go pick up D and Ju Ju to go out to my Dad's. I ended up sleeping there for about a total of 4 hours. A little here, a little there. It was fun. Oh, and Ju Ju's girlfriend also came out with us. She's a cute girl, but pretty quiet. That night we went to my uncle's house. I threw Bald a little surprise party there, his birthday is on the 28th! He was a little overwhelmed, but we had a good time.


Saturday night Bald and I took Beau-nizz to see the lights at Temple Square. She's so stinkin cute and she always makes me smile. She wouldn't smile for the camera when I would take a picture of her, but she would smile for Bald. Then I let her take some pictures to see if that would warm her up to it, and it did. After the lights, we stopped and got a scoop of ice cream. Beau-nizz killed her first scoop, so we got her another one for the way home. She ate a little over half of it before she didn't want anymore. Then I looked back there about 5 minutes later and she was out! When we got back to the house, Knoxy was still up and played with Bald and his hat.


Sunday, it was time to go home. So we stopped by a couple of houses to say good-bye. I didn't want to leave! But we had to!! I'm glad that we got to go. It was a good trip. For those of you I didn't get to see, I'm sorry I didn't have more time to see all of you that I wanted to see.






























Catch up

First of all, I'm sorry it took me so long to post. I was just being lazy. I know, I know...I'm home all day and could find some time to post. I tried a few weeks ago, and I couldn't get it to show my full picture that I wanted it to, so I got pissed and just quit. Now, I'm going to try and post at least once a month! I'm saying that just in case I don't meet my real goal of once a week. So, here's a little run down of what I've been doing since June.


July-nothing to spectacular. For the 4th, we went to Bald's friend's in-law's house. It was fun, there was a pool and a HUGE backyard to play in. On the 11th, Cedric and Tasha were married! Congrats to them! And around the end of the month I went to San Francisco with Sally, her friend Valarie, and Chase. It was so much fun. We wanted to go to Alcatraz, but they were sold out for like 5 days in advanced. So we settled for a boat ride that went under the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz. We rode the cable cars and just toured the city. It was just an over-night trip, but it was fun!


I spent a lot of time with Sally and Chase this summer. It was a lot of fun, and nice to have someone to hang out with and get to know better.


August-Wow, I can't remember what we did that month! But I do remember that I went home at the end of the month, for the family kampout!! I got there a couple of days before the kampout and went to watch my baby brother play baseball. He's a good little pitcher and I can tell that he really loves the sport. And he's pretty good (don't tell him I said that)! The 3 of us, D, Ju Ju, and I went up on Saturday morning and stayed til Monday. It was so much fun, even with the rain. I guess it was just nice to see all the family. Then I had to come home.


September-The first week, I was still at home visiting. I don't remember much from that month either. I know we, Bald and I, went on a drive to Quincy. It's a beautiful drive. You follow a river almost all the way up. We spent a few minutes in the town, and then came back home. Nothing else too exciting happened....that I can remember!


October-The first weekend in October, the National Yo-Yo Championships were held here in Chico. We stopped by and watched for a bit. It's crazy what some of those kids and adults can do. We also saw the kid that was on Ellen there! And then at the end of the month, we carved some pumpkins! Our first pumpkins together! They turned out pretty good considering we didn't have the right tools for them and we were using old steak knives! Bald did an alien head and I did a skull!


So, there you have it. Our super exciting lives!! Sorry there aren't any pics. I didn't want to have to wait for them all to load. I'm a little impatient with technology these days. I will try better to get more pics up.

6.24.2008

Friend's Trip '08


Bald and I on the harbor cruise
Some of the fishing boats that were docked

You call this sand?? It's more like gravel to me!
Sally was mad because Zane kept skipping her! It was a little excessive I have to admit!
Fern Canyon...
Oh my gosh it was so pretty there. They actually filmed some of Jurassic Park II there. It was pretty cool. I would definitely recommend going if you ever have the chance...just don't drive a car. You have to go through 3 streams to get there! But my car made it!

More Fern Canyon. The ferns are just growing on the walls.

Banana Slug...I heard that you can lick them and they taste like bananas. But I didn't want to try. Sally tried it back in the day...so I will just believe it.
More ferns.. A trail that the boys found when they were exploring.
Bald on an old tree stump in front of a very large Redwood.
This was Big Tree. This picture doesn't show the true size of this thing. It went on forever. I swear I couldn't even see the top

The coast at sunset. The fog would come in too early to get a nice sunset picture, but these 3 are still beautiful.


The towns little old church.

On the last day, we walked down to the beach to check out the tide pools. It was so pretty and there were some interesting things. At first I was like what the heck are these glob things. Then I found out that they were THESE....
They contract when they aren't in the water to protect themselves and also to keep in the moisture.
Lots of starfish...and more globs!






6.17.2008

Happy Birthday to Me!

I had a great day and a great weekend. I'm getting so OLD! I'm 22 years older than my youngest cousin right now...and he's probably not the last either!
Ubaldo bought me a new phone for my birthday! I really like it, BUT BlackBerry is coming out with a newer one that I think I really want. I have 30 days to decide if I like this one or not. So, hopefully it will come out before then and I will be able to check it out. Oh, and it will be in my given price range!

Grampa Ty and Grama Viv also sent me a card...with the traditional $2 bill that they have continued since the passing of Grampa Champ. And a gift card!
Grama Barbara sent me a plant. Hopefully I don't kill it!
Grampa Roger sent me a card and some cash!
My dad started a USB flash drive with all the pics that he had of me. I really enjoyed that. I will have to post some of them on here!
And thanks to everyone who called and text! I love and miss you all!

6.12.2008

Fire in Paradise

There has been this awful fire in Paradise, CA. It's only about 15 minutes away from Chico. I looked out the window this afternoon and this is what I saw. A huge smoke cloud. It looks so dark and gross. Funny thing is that you can't smell the fire in the air. I always remember being able to smell the fire in Salt Lake when there wasn't a fire too close to the city.